Beauty: From the Inside Out

Date: May 8th, 2011

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: Beauty: From the Inside Out

Text: Acts 5:1 - 11

INTRODUCTION

Last weekend over 2 billion people got taken in by the magical Royal wedding of William & Kate. There was a lot of ado made about different things:

Dress – original design, only one of it’s kind
Engagement Ring – only thing William wanted of his mother’s…gave to Kate

Just about everything was unique and one of a kind…authentic.

Now what has been amusing to me is all the fakes and replicas that have spun-off… almost immediately.

Dress – wedding was barely over and some designers were working off pictures of the dress to create a pattern that was going to be mass produced in china.
Ring – commercials – for $19.99 you can get a genuine fake…”genuine simulated diamonds” - looks like it but without the gold, sapphire& diamonds.

Point:

Our world is inundated with knockoffs, replicas, fakes. Some of you may have a Rolex watch you picked up on some Asian vacation for $10.

Transition

In Acts 5 we come to a story about some spiritual replicas, some knockoffs, some fakes.

Story of a husband and wife team named Ananias &Sapphira.

Here’s the story: Acts 4:32

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

What motivated these folks to fake it?

A. ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA’S MOTIVATIONS

3 possible motives:

1. POSSIBLE MOTIVE #1: DESIRE TO IMPRESS

In the preceding verses, we read about some generous and extraordinary people… they had the gift of giving and had generous and sacrificial hearts.

I suspect these people got attention. There were probably testimonies about how people were helped because of their generosity. They were seen no doubt as life-savers.

And maybe they wanted that. They wanted to be noticed…put on the pedestal….have people think they were impressive.

They sought to…

appear bigger on the outside than they were on the inside.
talk a bigger story than they walked.
to portray an image of being more spiritual, more generous, more committed than they actually were.

1 possible motive

2. POSSIBLE MOTIVE #2: DESIRE TO BE INCLUDED/Pressure to Conform

Maybe they felt pressure to do this to be included. “Everybody was doing it” Barnabas, others from time to time…

Maybe they mistakenly believed this was the “script” one had to follow to be accepted.

A script is the factors that one perceives neededto be accepted and to belong in a group. It is the criteria that you perceive is your ticket to be included.

In this Acts passage, it seems part of the script of the early church was “sharing”. In v 32 it says,“No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything.”

Part of the DNA of this church was “sharing”…thing we learn in kindergarten….share the toys….

Ananias & Sapphira mistakenly saw this selling land and giving the proceeds as their ticket to “belong”. They thought this would help them to belong.

Unfortunately, they misinterpreted the script. They got it twisted. Peter identifies that. Generosity and sharing was the Christian script but no one was forcing them to give it all…Peter says they allowed Satan put that twisted lie into their minds.

They could have given whatever they wanted….. The script was having an open hand towards possessions … sharing… being authentic!

But perhaps the desire to be included was their motive….they wanted to conform

3. POSSIBLE MOTIVE #3: NEED TO KEEP UP APPEARANCES

We don’t know who started the lie, but Sapphira somehow felt the need to conform to her husband’s lie. She perpetuated it.

v.2 -“With his wife’s full knowledge…

She couldn’t claim ignorance.
She knew what was happening in the 4 walls of her home and went along with it.
She kept up the lie and façade that everything was okay when it wasn’t okay.
She played party to the conspiracy. …whether it was because of something she had to gain (maybe promised new house or winter vacation with that money) or maybe fear of the repercussions…whatever the reason she went along with the lie.

SUMMARY

The text doesn’t really reveal what their motives were. Was it one of these or something else…not sure?

But one thing we learn is:

It is so easy to succumb to the temptations of outwardness

…to be bigger on the outside than inside

…to portray an inauthentic image

… Ananias &Sapphira maybe don’t live so far away

…all of us have felt the pressure to impress, to do something to be accepted, to keep up appearances

…We have all been tempted to live behind a lie.

And these 2 gave in to the temptation. Their motives got translated into behaviors. They lied.

They wore the fake Rolex …they bought the “genuine simulated diamonds”…

B. GOD’S HEART TOWARDS THEIR BEHAVIORS

a. God doesn’t like phoniness.

It’s a cancer.

In the Gospels, Jesus reserved his anger for hypocrisy.

Matthew 23 he calls those who were faking it hypocrites, white-washed tombs, brood of vipers….
Proverbs 30:8 has this central desire of the writer for his life :“Keep falsehood and lies far from me.”
In Isaiah 1: 10 we read,

11 “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”

says the Lord.

“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of fattened cattle.

I get no pleasure from the blood

of bulls and lambs and goats.

12 When you come to worship me,

who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;

the incense of your offerings disgusts me!

God is totally unimpressed when we are more on the outside than we are on the inside.

The reality is God wants “real”….even it’s broken and battered…real is better.

Psalm 51:16,17

“You do not delight in sacrifices or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and contrite heart, O God , you will not despise.”

Jesus articulated the 1st step to entering the kingdom of God is to to conefess.To admit one’s sins. To come clean. To acknowledge to God, ourselves, and at times to others what we have done…to own it. To quit hiding and covering up.

The first step to fellowship with one another is honesty….being real with each other.

God values real. When phoniness 1st raised it ‘s ugly head in the early church, God dealt with it swiftly and severely.

(One of the changes in the modern church is we often punish (ostracize) people for being real rather than being phoney….they confess , describe who they are, remove the mask and we draw a swath around them, distance ourselves…afraid of contamination or something….) Think about that for awhile and what that says)

Let us also note

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but God none of the time.

b. God looks at the heart.

Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He looks at us with x-ray eyes.

He doesn’t look at the size of the cheque…but the spirit with which it is given.
He doesn’t look at the act of service…but themotive beneath it.
He doesn’t look at our worship acts or non-acts… but at the heart behind them.
He knows who you are …when nobody else is looking.

God knows the real you… And he’d rather you be real than phoney.

But, it is so easy to succumb to the temptations of outwardness

…to be bigger on the outside than inside
…to portray an inauthentic image
…it’s so easy to hide behind “genuine simulated diamonds”, and $10 Rolex knockoffs,

Because there’s pressure.

Pressure of pride to impress.
Pressure of the world to conform.
Pressure of fear to keep up appearances.

Sometimes we succumb to the pressure and fail ourselves to be real and authentic.

APPLICATION

Anyways, this is Mother’s Day. Let me seize this opportunity to speak to you as women with an important message you are not hearing anywhere today. .

Caution:

I am not saying to women “You hypocrites!”, but rather I think you as women face more pressure and temptation to be “replicas” and untrue to yourselves than almost more than any other group in our society today…especially young women.

Let me explain…

I believe you face incredible pressure… and many Christian women are buckling under that pressure and giving in to the temptation of “outwardness” …to live up to an outward image set by the world.

You face enormous…

a.Pressure to Be Impressive

The fashion and cosmetic industry put a lot of pressure on you as to what to look like. And it is a pretty narrow definition.

In a study done by Dove called “The Real Nature of Beauty” – (10 countries & 3200 women) (reference a few times in message) they wrote

The study also demonstrates that women tend to believe that the popular meanings of beauty and physical attractiveness have become increasingly narrowed and unattainable.

Thus:

♦Well over half of all women (57%) strongly agree that “the attributes of female beauty have become very narrowly defined in today’s world.”

♦More than two-thirds (68%) of women strongly agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.”Equated beauty with a narrow definition of physical attractiveness.

The result they found is only 2% claim to be beautiful.
Women are less satisfied with their beauty than with almost every other dimension of life except their financial success.

Think of the pressure:

“Heaven forbid that you go into public without your (makeup)face on or hair not done.” (Where does that come from?)
Young women – face the pressure to look like super-models. To be impressive you have to look like this, be this weight, wear this.
As a woman grows older there is the pressure to not act or dress her age because she feels threatened by having lost those attributes which made her the “queen’ in her teenage years.

Temptation is so strong to rest your self-esteem on the outward. Feel pressure to look certain way ….to look impressive.

Consequences are huge:

Leads many young woman to lousy self-esteems, &eating disorders, to cliquish behaviour
It leads many women to live feeling constantly threatened & fearful. They feel they may not be enough to hold their spouses attention.
It causes many aging women to extensive cosmetic surgery seeking to stay young.

You face the pressure like no one else to have to be impressive outwardly.

Us guys: bald is beautiful, hair everywhere is welcomed, even from our nose & ears (except to our spouse) “big” guts attractive, what’s wrong with baggy sweats with paint on to go to the store… different standard….not near the pressure.

Women: You face enormous …

b. Pressure to Conform

Women face the pressure not only to be impressive, but to conform to even be accepted. Conform in style.

If outward beauty is the ticket (the script) in society to be included, then the pressure is to do what is necessary to meet the cultural image. Conform in dress…hair…behaviour.

You perceive a script you must conform to- tobe accepted.
Conformity is required.

A university student wrote in a poem “Ode to a Pretty Girl” one of the consequences of that …

Talked about attention she gets from her beauty, but writes about the hollowness…

But you will enjoy your curse

For you never will be bored

You never will be alone

But Always, Always

You shall be lonely.

You can fool yourself sometimes ,

And he can fool you too

Because he is trained to do that

And you, too, are trained

And we are all trained

To fool each other

To fool ourselves

To live a lie.

There’s a deep hollowness to it.

On a different note…many women feel the

c. Pressure to Keep Up Facade

Many women live in difficult homes – alcoholism, abuse going on but feel pressure to pretend , to keep up the façade…to go along with the lie. They fear what it might mean to expose the lie, the elephant in the living room…

You clean up the mess and cover for alcoholic husband.
You turn away at the abuse.

Summary

All of these pressures can lead you to lose who you are

…to become less real and authentic

…to become something outwardly that you are not.

…to lose yourself

It can translate into behaviors that make you untrue to yourself…make your outward persona larger than your inner self.

Challenge you as women today to go against the stream of the culture…to battle it. To resist this pressure cooker.

I want to challenge you to that for your sake, and for the Kingdom’s sake.

Somewhere the message has to change…there needs to be some deeper understandings that beauty works from the inside out. That the beautiful person is an authentic person…

Christian women are needed to get on the bandwagon of what real beauty is about, and what it means to be an authentic person.

What does authenticity look like?

How do you counteract all these conforming pressures and not succumb like Ananias &Sapphira ?

Go back to beginning - talked about royal wedding & real & fake.

TV : “Antique Roadshow”

Show that helps people to discover whether items are real or replicas, valuable or not. …whether real valuable ring or “genuine simulated diamonds”

There are generally 3 things they look for to determine if something is authentic:

Provenance – Does it bear signature or unique mark of the craftsman?
Beauty – Does it have a sense of remarkableness, awe?
Rarity – Is commonplace, mass produced or rare?

i.e. vase or piece of furniture

mark or signature that identifies the crafsman
sense of specialness because different than commonplace of day (different)
rare – numbered, limited, etc

Let me challenge you in those 3 categories to direct you toward being an authentic, real Christian woman .

1. Provenance – Aim to bear the signature of Jesus, not the world

Acts 4:13 – “theytook note these men had been with Jesus”- what distinquished them…(wore a cross piece of jewellery…something deeper)
In Acts 11:26 we read this statement ,”The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” They were given that name by observers because they bear the signature of Christ. (What was that?)
Eph 2:10 – “We are Christ’s workmanship…”

i.e.

Maundy Thurs – Denise F – pottery wheel - those containers bore her craftsmanship and progressively took the shape she had in mind.

As a woman/person:

Challenge you to imagine…

Imagine yourself as clay on Christ’s potter’s wheel rather than this world’s. What does he have in mind?

Put yourself in a place to be moulded by him.

Allow him not commercials to shape your self-esteem , your attitudes.

Allow him to shape your heart not just fashion magazines…

Allow his character to shape you not some celebrity…

Allow Christ’s moulding hand - his word, his whispers, spiritual practises….to shape your inner perspectives and attitudes.

As you do that, your life increasingly resembles the master’s hand…you become increasingly authentic….you bear his signature.

2.Beauty – Seek a deeper remarkableness (a difference)

Beauty is different than pretty. Pretty is superficial. Beauty goes deep.

i.e.

In one of our worship songs we sing “the beautiful cross”…we wouldn’t sing the “pretty” cross. Cross isn’t pretty. It is beautiful because of the love it expresses.There are some things that may not be pretty but are beautiful when you think of the design, materials, craftsmenship involved, innovation.

The book of 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6gets at this when it says:

There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

4–6 Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated

Check out :www. campaignforrealbeauty.com

Daughters or influencer of younger girls recommend that you look at the workbook that has been developed to go through with girls….

Seek to become a person who is bigger on the inside a woman of character as outlined in Prov 31.

3. Rarity- Pursue the unique person God made you to be

One of the signs of value and authenticity is rarity. Unique.

God has made each person unique.

Given you unique gifts. No one has your fingerprint… your unique DNA.

Being authentic is finding and living out who you are. God has made you. Gifted you. Has a plan for you.

Mother Teresa was once asked:

“Why do you do what you do?”

“Because I can do what I want to do.” She was expressing her uniqueness….

Summary:

Authenticity comes from bearing the signature of the one who made you
Seeking to build the inner self so it overflows
Pursuing the uniqueness that God has gifted you with.

CONCLUSION

A Parable

In 1998 a man selling costume jewellery approached 21 year old Tanya Tokevich while she was sitting in a Vancouver bar. She ended up buying a ring for $20. “It didn’t look like much “ she said. “It was dull, but I just thought it was nice.” She decided to have it appraised to find out if she’d gotten a good deal. She had. It wasn’t costume jewellery – it was an antique engagement ring with a 2.05 –carat diamond worth $11,000.

Women:

Our world often tells you and sells you off as “$20 costume jewellry” ….

But may you today realize (like Tanya that your not just nice, but realize your true value…

You bear the signature of a fine artist in Jesus Christ…You possess a remarkable beauty often unrecognised by the surface-gazers & ignorant…
You bear a uniqueness of an $11,000 diamond … You aren’t a mass produced $20 dollar common piece of costume jewellery.

Husbands, sons & daughters, boyfriends:

We are like the vendor…. we often fail to recognise the value of the “jewels” God has brought into our world….And your job is to show & remind them of their God-ordained value by how you respect &honor them, value them, &speak to them .

Your job is to help them discover - not diminish, or degrade, their true value.

1 Peter 3: 7

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

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The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 4:33-5:11

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Is 1:10-13

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. 1 Pe 3:1-6